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INST FÖR SPRÅK OCH LITTERATURER
ENGLISH
The Aspects of “Be” in selected rap
and Hip Hop lyrics: A marker of
cultural identity? Beatriz Helgotsson
BA thesis
Supervisor:
Joe Trotta
Examiner:
Misuzu Shimotori
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Title: The Aspects of “Be” in selected rap and Hip Hop lyrics: A marker of
cultural identity?
Author: Beatriz Helgotsson
Supervisor: Joe Trotta
Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate the use of the African American
English (AAVE) verb be in lyrics written and performed by four African
American rappers, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Gucci Mane and Future. This paper
also demonstrates how the verb be in AAVE is used by these rappers to
construct cultural identity. The method used is a qualitative analysis and partly a
quantitative study of the empirical data. Every instance of the verb be was
written down and counted in order to examine the lyrics and to explore how
often and in what context it occurs in the selected material. The result of the
study shows that the copula absence has the highest rate in frequency and
occurrence within the selected rap lyrics, after which comes the
invariant/habitual be followed by the so-called equative copula.
Keywords: African American Vernacular English, grammar, Hip Hop Nation
Language, cultural identity, sociolinguistics
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Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 4
2. Research aims and questions ............................................................................................................................... 5
3. Background........................................................................................................................................................ 5
3.1 Previous research on the variations of the verb be in AAVE ............................................................................ 6
3.1.1 Syntactic structures of the verb be in AAVE ................................................................................................. 6
3.1.2 Semantic structures of verb be in AAVE ....................................................................................................... 8
3.1.3 The AAVE verb be in Hip Hop music ......................................................................................................... 10
3.3 Hip Hop Culture .............................................................................................................................................. 12
4. Material and Method ...................................................................................................................................... 14
4.1 Material ........................................................................................................................................................... 14
4.2 African American Hip Hop and Rap artists .................................................................................................... 16
4.3 Method ............................................................................................................................................................ 18
5. Results and Analysis ....................................................................................................................................... 19
5.1 Be1 (Copula absence) ..................................................................................................................................... 20
5.1.1 Be1 (Copula absence) in Trap ....................................................................................................................... 20
5.1.2 Be1 (Copula absence) in Conscious rap ........................................................................................................ 21
5.2 Be2 (Invariant/habitual be) ........................................................................................................................... 22
5.2.1 Be2 (Invariant/habitual be) in Trap ............................................................................................................... 22
5.2.2 Be2 (Invariant/habitual be) in Conscious rap ................................................................................................ 24
5.3 Be3 (The equative copula) ............................................................................................................................. 25
5.3.1 Be3 (The equative copula) in Trap ................................................................................................................ 26
5.3.2 Be3 (The equative copula) in Conscious rap................................................................................................. 27
6. Discussion and Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 29
References ................................................................................................................................................................
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1. Introduction
African American Vernacular English (referred to by scholars as AAVE but also as AAE) in
Hip Hop music, in recent years, has become a topic discussed among linguists. In particular,
sociolinguists have been interested in finding the relationship between the language used in
Hip Hop music and African American English. The question remains if AAVE is the same as
“The language used in rap and Hip Hop songs […] [which is known as] Hiphop Nation
Language [HHNL]” (Alim 2004: 2). Some researchers believe that AAVE is the same as
HHNL. For instance, Smitherman (1997) claims “The language of hip-hop is African
American language […]” (p. 7). On the other hand, other scholars, such as Cutler (2007),
believe that not only is AAVE not necessarily the same as Hip Hop Nation Language, but also
that African American rappers have been changing the grammar of AAVE (p. 61). In this
context, the non-standard use of the verb be which is a prominent feature of AAVE, is not an
exception.
In AAVE, the verb be can be used in a number of ways which differs from Standard English.
For instance, in AAVE, there are two forms of the verb be, the copula absence/zero copula,
the deletion of the words is and are, which usually connect the subject and the verb in a
sentence in Standard English, and the invariant/habitual be which “is used most often to
convey an aspectual meaning of habituality” (Alim 2004: 173). The copula construction1 in
AAVE is considered not only to be different from Standard English, but also to be a feature
that distinguishes AAVE from Hip Hop Nation Language. For instance, in the speech of
African Americans, the copula absence and invariant/habitual be occur more often, whereas in
written language the equative copula, which is a new form of copula, is “[…] used widely by
a variety of artists within the last decades or so” (Alim 2004: 185).
This paper explores the use of the verb be in African American English in lyrics written and
performed by current Hip hop and rap artists, such as Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Gucci Mane
1 Note that the notion “copula” is often used to describe the verb be, used as a linking word for the subject and
the predicate, in for example, an adjective or a prepositional phrase (Mufwene 1992: 145). In AAVE, the copula
be is not only used as a linking word, but it is also used as an “auxiliary verb-be in the progressive (as in John is
singing), in future constructions with […] gon(na), and in passive constructions” (Mufwene 1992: 145). In
addition, the verb be in AAVE is also used with a habitual meaning as in the structure of invariant/habitual be. In
this paper, due to the various functions of the verb be in AAVE, this feature will be further referred to as simply
verb be, /or Be1, Be2, Be3 (see Alim 2004: 182, for more details). Also, in this study, passive sentences with the
verb be (see Green 2002: 49, for discussion of this matter) is not discussed, since they are not found within the
selected rap lyrics, but it could be a topic to suggest for further research in the field.
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and Future, in order to look closely into the occurrences of the variations of the copula and to
demonstrate in what way these constructions are used as an expression of cultural identity.
2. Research aims and questions
This study aims to analyze four randomly chosen songs from the artist Kendrick Lamar, J.
Cole, Gucci Mane and Future (see Section 4.2 for details), in order to look closely into the
copula patterns and to see how often they are used, in what context and how these rappers
may be using these patterns to identify themselves within the African American culture. In the
current study, I compare the use of the copula structures within the two genres of Hip Hop
music, so-called “Conscious rap” (Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole) and “Trap” (Gucci Mane and
Future) (see Section 4.1 for the genre distinctions and definitions) in order to find out if the
copula is a grammatical feature of AAVE prominent in rap and Hip Hop music today and
whether these genre distinctions affect the way the construction is used.
The following research questions are used to examine the lyrics written by black rappers:
- How do these four rap artists incorporate the verb be in their music?
- How does the verb be in AAVE contribute to the understanding of cultural identity in Hip
Hop music?
- Does the genre affect the use of the copula construction?
3. Background
In order to fully understand and contextualize the present study, it is necessary to give some
background information about the variations of be in AAVE, the Hip hop culture, and the four
artists involved in the study. To begin with, it is crucial to establish the syntactic and semantic
structures of the verb be in AAVE in order to demonstrate and understand how these rappers
apply the constructions within their lyrics to construct cultural identity. By doing so, the verb
be in AAVE is compared with its use in Standard English. At the end of Section 3.1.2, there
will be a table used to illustrate those Be1 (copula absence), Be2 (invariant/habitual be), Be3
(the equative copula) usages in AAVE.
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3.1 Previous research on the variations of the verb be in AAVE
3.1.1 Syntactic structures of the verb be in AAVE
The verb be (or the so-called copula) is the most studied grammatical feature of AAVE.
According to Wolfram (2002) “[…] the copula is probably the most studied but least
understood variable in sociolinguistics” (p. 77). This feature can also be considered a complex
structure since it has different forms and distinct grammatical rules. The verb be in AAVE
contains at least two patterns: the copula absence/zero copula and invariant/habitual be. The
copula absence, or zero copula, often occurs in AAVE, when in Standard English the
contracted forms of the lexical verbs (is and are) are used, whereas in the grammar of AAVE
these features are often omitted (Yule 2014: 265). This means that speakers of AAVE have
the possibility to vary their speech and create sentences such as: “He is the leader (full form)
He´s the leader (contracted form) and He Ø the leader (absent form)” (Alim 2004: 141). What
is interesting here, when looking at the syntactic structure of the verb be in AAVE, is that
although the three sentences have different grammatical structures, they all have the same
meaning. In relation to the copula absence, Lanehart (2001) gives an explanation of its
structure:
The absence of present tense third person singular - s (as in “She Ø workin´ in the
city”) […] (as in “He Ø in the house watchin´ TV”), the absence of plural and
second person singular copula (as in “They Ø gonna be here soon”) (p. 94).
In the case of this paper, when analyzing the use of be in AAVE in Hip Hop and rap lyrics, it
is necessary to look at the grammatical categories in which the verb be can occur. By
examining the syntactic structure of the verb be, it becomes easier to understand how this
feature is used within the selected rap lyrics. As can been seen in Lanehart´s examples, the
copula absence appears in present tense in the grammatical environments: before progressive,
prepositional or locative verb phrases. Additionally, in the last sentence the absent form of the
verb be follows the future marker gon (gonna). According to Alim (2004) the verb be “[…]
can be absent before prepositional phrases and locatives (on the rise), progressive verbs (he
runnin scared), adjectives (we wide awake), negatives and gon (we not just gon lay down)
[…]” (p. 141). However, there are grammatical environments in which the copula absence is
not appropriate: “it cannot be absent when it is in sentence-final position (as they are) […]
The copula can’t be absent in the first-person singular form. A sentence such as I the boss is
ungrammatical […] (Alim 2004: 141-142). This shows that there are existing rules that
govern the way in which the verb be appear in AAVE.
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When it comes to the invariant/habitual be, Campbell (2005) explains that this feature of
AAVE “[…] means that the to be verb isn’t conjugated, doesn't vary in tense or number […]”
(p.13). This means it does not correspond with the conjugated forms of Standard English,
such as am is and are. In other words, in comparison to copula absence which is “[…] the
form of the copula that varies […] [invariant be] […] don’t vary […] it always occurs as one
form, just “be” (Alim 2004: 173). The invariant/habitual be, which is also called the
distributive be, is used in five different grammatical environments:
[…] (1) as the auxiliary progressive construction be+ Verb+-ing (“Cause sometimes
I be sleeping and I don’t feel like doing the work”); (2) before adjectives
(“Christmas? Everybody be happy”); (3) predicative nominals (“When you first
come there, there be a lot of teachers”); (4) locatives and some nonlocative
prepositional phrases (“Sometimes I be with Rudy”) and (5) past participles (“Well,
they be mixed up all kinds of way”) (Fasold 1972: 151 cited in Alim 2004: 180)
When looking at the examples of the grammatical categories of the invariant be, in
comparison with the categories of the copula absence, there are some differences that can be
noticed. For instance, according to the rules of the copula absence, the verb be cannot be
absent with first person singular, as previously stated by Alim (2004: 141-141), but most
importantly, it is not used in past tense. In spite of their differences, there are, just like the
copula absence, grammatical constraints for the invariant/habitual be:
[…] be does not have durative function like the conjugated forms is, am and are (so
He is working now is grammatical, but *He be working right now is not) […] [the
invariant/habitual be] “[…] cannot be used with a purely past time meaning and […]
[with] constructions of will and would” […] “He be in in a few minutes” is
interpreted as “He´ll be in in a few minutes”) (Fasold 1972: 151 cited in Alim 2004:
180).
Regarding the use of the verb be for future tense, there is a deletion with the modal verb will
and “[t]his is essentially a result of the phonological rule deleting the contracted ‘ll of will”
(Rickford 1999: 6). In the example “He be in in a few minutes” (Fasold 1972 cited in Alim
2004: 180), the verb be is not used to express reoccurring events. Therefore, the sentence is
not only deemed ungrammatical in AAVE, but also not considered being a form of the
invariant be. Furthermore, neither the invariant/habitual be nor the copula absence can be
used to talk about events in the future. Due to the length of the current paper and due to the
lack of ungrammatical sentences of the copula absence and invariant/habitual be in the
selected rap lyrics, such instances are not discussed in this study. However, this could be an
interesting area in future research, since AAVE is considered to be a non-standard form of
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English and is “stigmatized as being “illogical” or “sloppy’” (Yule 2014: 264). Thus, it is
important understanding that AAVE is not English with grammatical mistakes. AAVE, like
Standard English, has grammatical rules applied to its structure.
It is noteworthy to mention here, in Standard English the verb be belong to two different
categories, as opposed to its AAVE counterpart. According to Payne (2010), in Standard
English, there is a difference between the lexical or copular be (the English vocabulary word),
and the auxiliary be (the grammatical entity) (p. 1-2). However, in AAVE the copula be and
auxiliary be, are considered as the same grammatical category (Green 2002: 38). In fact, in
AAVE the copula be and auxiliary be “[…] have the same [syntactic] form […]” (Green
2002: 37-38). For instance, the copula be and the auxiliary be can be deleted: “Absence of
copula/auxiliary is and are for present tense states actions, as in “He Ø tall” for SE “He´s tall”
or “They Ø running scared” for SE “They are running scared […]” (Rickford 1999: 6). In
addition, both the absent form of the verb be in the copula absence construction and the
present be in the structure of the invariant/habitual be, can be used as either a progressive
auxiliary or a copula. In this study the lexical or copular be and the auxiliary be are combined,
which means that they are treated as the same grammatical category.
3.1.2 Semantic structures of verb be in AAVE
AAVE is different from Standard English not only in terms of the syntactic structures of the
verb be, but also in terms of the semantic properties that are ascribed to it (see Table 1).
Unlike Standard English, the AAVE verb be has many ways of indicating tense and aspect,
whether the event or action is continuing, repeated, incomplete or complete in the past and
present time. For instance, as for the verb in invariant/habitual be, speakers of AAVE “[…]
can use be (not is), as in She be working downtown, as a way of expressing habitual action”
(Yule 2014: 265). In this case, this is where the verb be in AAVE is used to indicate that the
subject is always or usually working. In fact, the invariant/habitual be is used “[…] to indicate
[…] actions or attributes that are continuous, intermittent, or ongoing […]” (Smitherman
1997: 9)
The other way in which the verb be can be used in AAVE, is when talking about what is
currently happening, namely the copula absence/zero copula, as seen in the sentence “he
busy” (Yule 2014: 265). The absence of the verb be implies that he is busy right now.
However, Standard English requires, when expressing habitual aspect, the adverbs such as
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usually or always. Additionally, in Standard English, when talking about events that are
happening in the very present moment, it is obligatory to include one form of verb be in
combination with time expressions such as “currently= (now)” (Yule 2014: 265). In Standard
English, the absence of the verb be and the use of be with an aspectual meaning is not
possible.
It is worth mentioning here that the copula absence is different from invariant/habitual be in a
number of ways (Alim 2004: 173). While copula absence is used in present tense with first
person plural, second and third person (both singular and plural), the invariant/habitual be is
distributive in time: “[…] (“Distributive [or tenseless] be is only used in iterative contexts to
refer to states or events which are periodically discontinued and resumed again”) […]”
(Fasold 1972: 151 cited in Alim 2004: 180). In fact, the invariant/habitual be is an aspect
marker, whereas copula absence only denotes present tense. In addition, Yule (2014) confirms
the importance of separating the two structures from each other, as he proposes that “the
presence or absence of be distinguishes between what is a recurring activity or state and what
is currently happening” (p. 265). This means that, in AAVE, the verb be in copula absence is
omitted optionally when talking about events that happen in present time, whereas the verb be
in the invariant/habitual be has to be present in order to express situations that happen more
than once.
Table 1 below illustrates the differences between the AAVE and the Standard English use of
the verb be. The table is also used to show the syntactic and semantic structures of Be1, Be2,
and Be3 in AAVE. Hence, this can be helpful when distinguishing the various types of be in
AAVE.
Table 1
The categories of
AAVE “Be”
AAVE structures
Standard English
Grammatical
environments
(i) Be1
(Copula absence)
He Ø happy He is happy right now
(currently)
The absence of the
verb be is placed
before the adjective
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Regarding the semantic structure of the verb be in AAVE, Wolfram (2004) claims the
invariant/habitual be can be used “beyond its reference to habituality […] [the verb] be is
commonly used in hip-hop equative sentences such as I be the truth […]” (p. 119). Scholars
such as Alim (2004) and (Cutler 2007) have also observed that there are different forms of the
so-called copula in AAVE (p. 182). This way of using the verb be (as shown in Wolfram´s
example), is what Alim (2004) calls “the equative copula” or “Be3” (p. 182). The structure
and function of Be3 will be explained further in Section 3.1.3.
3.1.3 The AAVE verb be in Hip Hop music
The copula constructions in AAVE are not only to be found in the speech of many African
Americans, but also in written language, within rap and Hip Hop lyrics. Cutler (2007) points
out the invariant/habitual be and copula absence have been identified within the lyrics from
“Busta Rhyme´s song ‘What it is’ off the album Genesis (cited in Alim 2004a:398) […] This
beat be the beat to rock for the street” (p. 521), and “[…] Get em High’ on the album College
Dropout by Kanye West […] And I won’t, give you that money that you __ askin fo’” (Cutler
2007: 522).
Besides this, previous research on the verb be in AAVE, has focused on the very nature of the
structure of the invariant/habitual be, since it is not only different from the verb be in
Standard English, but also has other characteristics which distinguishes it from the other types
of be in AAVE. For instance, when scholars looked more closely at the structure of the
AAVE verb be in Hip Hop lyrics written by black rappers, they discovered the equative
copula or Be3, which is claimed to be an extended feature of invariant be and is supposedly a
prominent structure of Hip Hop Nation Language. Alim (2004) suggests “This form of
invariant be differs from the descriptions of be2 [invariant be] that we find in the literature in
(ii) Be2
(Invariant/habitual be)
He be happy He is usually or
always happy
(habitual)
The verb be is placed
before the adjective
(iii) Be3
The equative copula
He be the happy man He is the happy man
(attributive)
The verb be is placed
before the noun in a
noun phrase
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that there is no presupposition of habituality or distribution in time for the subject or the
predicate” (p. 176). In fact, the equative copula is one feature which is claimed to distinguish
AAVE from Hip Hop Language. The equative copula is a linguistic phenomenon where the
verb be is used to talk about “[…] permanent (or at least long term) attributes […]” (Alim
2004: 188). Furthermore, the equative copula is used when the predicative is expressed by a
noun in a sentence. Alim (2004) states “This form of invariant be differs from the descriptions
of be2 [invariant be] that we find in the literature in that there is no presupposition of
habituality or distribution in time for the subject or the predicate” (p. 176). In the sentence,
“[…] We BE the ones that first set it off down here […] be3 occurs in instantaneous or
definite time” (Alim 2004: 183). In fact, the equative copula is a feature which is claimed to
distinguish AAVE from Hip Hop Language. For example, Cutler (2007) explains the rules:
In spite of the high degree of overlap between HHL and AAE, however, the
correspondence is not complete […] for example, ‘Hip Hop lyrics provide examples
of habitual be before noun phrases (e.g., “Dr. Dre be the name”) – an environment in
which most conversation-based AAVE studies did not note it’[…] (p. 521).
This not only shows that there is a wider copula variation in AAVE, but also it implies that
the copula is used differently in spoken and written language: “the patterns of the features in
Hip Hop lyrics differ from the [copula] patterns found in natural occurring speech […]” (Alim
2006: 115). The equative copula has been found within Hip Hop lyrics from the late 90s and
early 2000s: “We BE the ultimate lick. [Ice Cube, 1999] […] [and] […] Who BE the father of
this? [Busta Rhymes, 2001]” (Alim 2004: 185). In addition, the equative copula is used in the
grammatical environment “[…] Noun phrase be Noun phrase […] as seen in the lyrics of the
songs: “Dr. Dre be the name”.—Compton´s Dr. Dre” […] “Brooklyn be the place where I
served them thangs”.—New York´s Jay Z […]” (Alim 2006: 76-77).
It can clearly be seen in previous research, regarding the use the AAVE verb be in Hip Hop
music, that the equative copula was used by various rap artists during the period of time
between the 1990s and the 2000s. In general terms, this means that the new form of copula is
frequently used within the lyrics in Gangsta rap; it is a genre of Hip Hop music which “paints
vivid scenarios of the violent, often misogynistic culture of the streets” (Campbell 2005: 61).
However, Alim (2004) believes that there are many reasons why the copula in AAVE is
interesting and important to study:
[…] it is one the features that gives [AAVE] its distinctiveness, setting it apart from
other varieties of American English […] the copula has been used to support the
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notion that [it] is diverging (growing further away) from other varieties of American
English […] the copula plays a crucial role in heated debates about the historical
reconstruction of [AAVE], as it is perhaps the best indicator of [AAVE´s] Creo-like
origins […] recent research on the […] copula in Hip Hop Nation language (Alim
2002) suggests that speakers can, in fact consciously vary their usage of copula
absence based on issues of identity and ideology (p. 143).
There is no doubt that the verb be in AAVE is of great significance to scholars. One reason is
that it is considered to have a complex structure, since it is often discussed in relation to the
origin of AAVE, and is a structure commonly used by rappers in order to construct a “street-
conscious” identity” (Alim 2004: 143). Another significant aspect of the AAVE copula, as the
topic of interest among many linguists, is the fact that “the artists and participants in the Hip
hop Nation […] are the main preservers and maintainers of [AAVE]” (Alim 2004: 143). The
verb be in AAVE has been studied in contexts, other than music and lyrics. For example,
Green (2002) discusses the use of verb be and other features of AAVE in literature and in the
media and talks about how AAVE is represented in books and films. Other scholars, such as
Lanehart (2001) have compared speakers of African American English in different regions
and cities throughout the U.S.
3.3 Hip Hop Culture
When talking about Hip Hop, it is important to understand that Hip hop is more than just a
genre of music. It is a lifestyle for many African Americans living in the urban areas in the
US. Speer (2014) points out that “Hip Hop is not just music: it is comprised of fashion, arts,
icons, and it is a unique culture” (p. 713). Thus, Hip Hop is culture itself, with members that
have their own verbal and non-verbal language. Alim (2006) claims that there is such thing as
“Hip Hop Culture […] [which consists of] […] four major elements: MC'ing (rappin), DJ'ing
(spinnin), breakdancing (street dancing), and graffiti art (writing)” (p. 4). However, verbal
language plays the most central role in Hip Hop Culture, since rappers not only use language
to express their view of the world, but also their experiences of it. Therefore, Alim (2006)
clarifies, “[…] language is perhaps the most useful means with which to read the various
cultural activities of the HHN [Hip Hop Nation]” (p. 4). Hence, it is the language that
represents life of the streets: “Hip Hop is cultural practice embedded in the lived experience
of Hip Hop-conscious beings existing in a home, street, hood, city, country, continent […]”
(Alim 2006: 12).
When studying the language of Hip Hop lyrics, one becomes familiar with the African
American culture, since AAVE “[…] stems “from a somewhat disseminated rejection of the
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lifestyles, social patterns and thinking in general of the Euro-American sensibility […]” (Alim
2006: 74). Furthermore, Baugh (1983) believes black “[l]inguistic behavior is [a] vivid
indicator of black survival […]” (p. 7).
Despite the importance of AAVE in establishing African American identity, Hip Hop has
been criticized for the lack of AAVE features, especially in regard to grammar. Nowadays,
many rappers not only use AAVE inconsistently, but they have also changed their lyrics in a
style in order to better correspond with Standard English:
In the new millennium, critics from within the hip-hop community have argued that
many contemporary artists have abandoned anti-racism messages and focused
instead on money and sexual exploits […] They go on to say the corporate control
and the desire to reach a “wider and Whiter” audience has led rap away from overtly
antiracism sentiments (Sullivan 2003: 608).
In fact, Sullivan (2003) believes that the lack of features of AAVE in rap lyrics, not only has
to do with rappers frequent use of Standard English, but also due to the fact that current
rappers have changed their themes in their lyrics, in order to appeal to and build a bigger
fanbase. Therefore, Hip Hop has been questioned for its authenticity by many rappers and
other members of the Hip Hop community. For instance, the rap artist Eminem who released
the album Kamikaze in 2018, in which he blatantly attacks black and white rap artists for not
being representative artists in the Hip Hop community, due to change in music style and lyrics
(HipHopDX 2018: online).
Today Hip Hop music is considered by many as being “mainstream” or “commercial” (Belle
2014: 290). Sullivan (2003) explains that there is a difference between mainstream rap and its
earlier incarnations, or to say, the “underground hip hop” (p. 290):
Mainstream hip-hop refers to songs that cross over to White and international
audiences, receiving considerable radio play. Artists that are considered mainstream,
are signed to major recording labels and often rap about issues that are popular:
drugs, sex, crime and violence (Sullivan 2003:290) [whereas in] Underground hip-
hop […] the music is real while focusing on issues such as inequality, racism, the
problems with mainstream hip-hop, and urban story telling (Sullivan 2003: 292).
Hence, this is what distinguishes current rap and Hip Hop from its earlier form and style. In
fact, the mainstream artists choose to rap about other things than racial and social issues and
the street life which are claimed to be themes commonly found in Hip Hop genres such as
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Gangsta rap (see Section 4.1 for more details about the genres). Despite this, Smitherman
(1997) believes “Even when the message in music does not overtly speak to racial resistance,
the use of the Black speech community’s syntax covertly reinforces Black America´s 400-
year rejection of Euro-American cultural, racial and linguistic—domination” (p. 11).
When analyzing the lyrics of four current rap artists, from different genres of Hip Hop music,
the present study aims to explore the use of the verb be in AAVE, and how current rappers
apply the features to identify themselves with the African American culture.
4. Material and Method
4.1 Material
The materials for this study are lyrics written by four black male rap artists, Kendrick Lamar
and J. Cole, Gucci Mane and Future.
When selecting the rappers for the study, there were certain aspects that were needed to be
considered. For instance, the different genres of Hip Hop, fame, the numbers of albums
released, age, and race. Before deciding what artists to include in this study, it was necessary
to browse through various rappers on Spotify. I ended up choosing to examine the AAVE
verb be within the lyrics of two different genres of Hip Hop music, such as, Conscious rap
(Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole) and Trap music (Gucci Mane and Future). These artists were
chosen due to their contrast in music style and lyrics. For example, Conscious rap lyrics often
contain political messages, and poetic language, whereas in Trap music, rappers often rap
explicitly about one´s social status, power, money and drugs. Additionally, Trap music is a
genre of Hip Hop which is considered to be mainstream in music style. According to Forman
(2010) Conscious rap is defined as the type of “rap that is socially aware and consciously
connected to historic patterns of political protest and aligned with progressive forces of social
critique […]” (online). Gangsta rap is identified “as the most controversial type of rap music,
having received global attention for “its vivid sexist, misogynistic, and homophobic lyrics, as
well as its violent depiction of urban ghetto life in America” (Kubrin 2005: 360).
When it comes to the artists of the genre Conscious rap (Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole), New
York Times (2017) explains:
15
Mr. Lamar is, […] a hip-hop savior and also a representative of values that have
ceded their centrality in the genre [Conscious rap]. He is also, along with J. Cole
[…] part of the center […] that recalls the hip-hop of the late 1980s into the mid-
1990s, in terms of aesthetics, politics and technique (online).
In fact, due to the social and political content in the lyrics, many people believe Conscious rap
is regarded as similar to Gangsta rap. Trap music, as opposed to Conscious rap:
began to reach on the mainstream Billboard music charts 2009, with artists such as
Young Yeezy, Gucci Mane, and Future […] [whose] music is […] often perceived
as devoid of deeper meaning, promoting immoral behavior, talking mostly about
money, drugs, women, criminal and other stories of “real” life (Jernej 2018: 25).
In spite of the differences in lyrics in terms of content, these four rappers involved in the
examination, at least share the social background, that is to say they all are African Americans
who come from the urban streets of America: “Their social backgrounds, education, regional
history […] span the broadest spectrum” (Baugh 1983: 1). Therefore, it is much likely to find
the AAVE verb be within the lyrics by the artist in both genres.
The songs included in this current study have been chosen in part randomly. However, when
selecting the songs, it was important to pay attention to the year when the songs and albums
where released and the length of the song, since this can affect the frequency and occurrence
of the grammatical feature in a song. Moreover, it was crucial to look closely into the name of
the songs and analyze the themes of the songs, in order to analyze the lyrics in terms of
cultural identity.
Other factors such as gender, can also determine the way one uses language. The current
paper only focuses on male rappers at the age of early and late 30s, this was done in order to
limit the number of variables involved in the light of limited scope of the present study.
Another reason for focusing on male rappers is that Hip Hop started out with male rappers in
urban areas. In addition, Hip Hop is generally considered to be a male-dominated industry.
It is important to emphasize that this is a pilot study, which aims to compare eight songs each
by rappers from two different Hip Hop music genres. The fact that this is a very small study,
means that the results cannot be generalized at this point. However, future research may make
this possible. AAVE is not only used by black people and rappers, but also in other social
16
groups, in order to identify within the Hip Hop and the African American culture. For future
research in this area scholars such as Cutler (2007), suggests exploring the use of AAVE and
Hip Hop in the context of globalization. For instance, one could study some AAVE features
in Korean Hip Hop music Blingish where features of AAVE are used: “[…] by Korean hip
hop artists as an informal language to express subcultural identity and style” (Lee 2011:2).
Indeed, African American English is an important identity marker, for many of its speakers,
including African Americans and other social groups, who are a part of the Hip Hop Nation.
Although this subject is closely related to the present study, it would, due to the limitation and
length of this paper, require a separate study on its own.
4.2 African American Hip Hop and Rap artists
In order to contextualize the study, it was somehow necessary to get some more information
about the rappers involved in my investigation, as for example, where they come from and
age, since these are all factors which can affect the choice of language. The additional
information about the rappers, was retrieved from online newspapers, such as CNN
Entertainment (2015) “9 things about Kendrick Lamar”, Forbes (2018) “J. Cole Debuts His
Surprise Album 'KOD' At No. 1 With The Largest Opening Week Of 2018”, along with the
article by Childs (2014), “Let's Talk About Race”: Exploring Racial Stereotypes Using
Popular Culture in Social Studies Classrooms.
Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born 1987) is an African American rapper from Compton,
California. He is regarded as a rap artist, who has “[…] much more to talk about than the
typical drugs, women and money message that pervades most [new] rap songs” (Carlsbad
2015: 1). His music is often described as being “political, focusing on race and social issues”
(CNN Entertainment 2015: online). Lamar has also won Grammy awards for his albums
Good Kid, M.A.A.D City in 2012, To Pimp a Butterfly in 2015, and DAMN in 2017.
J. Cole, (birth name Jermaine Lamarr) was born in 1985 in Frankfurt, Germany. He was
raised in Fayetteville North Caroline, USA by his father, who is African American, and his
mother from Germany. Cole was first discovered by Jay-Z, who signed him into his record
label Roc Nation. J. Cole is “[k]nown for his emotional and passionate lyrics and delivery
[…]” (Flavouring Team 2011: online). Many of J. Cole’s songs are based on his personal
experiences growing up in the streets of Fayetteville. J. Cole released his best-selling records
Cole World: Sideline Story in 2011, Born Sinner from 2013 and his fourth mixtape The Blow
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Up in 2014. In 2018 J. Cole released his fifth and latest album KOD, which became the
number one album on the Billboard 200 (Forbes 2018: online).
Gucci Mane, Radric Delantic Davis, is a black rap artist born in 1980, in Atlanta. His music
belongs to the Hip Hop genre, trap, along with other rap artists such as Jeezy, T.I and Future.
Gucci Mane got his breakthrough as an artist in the year of 2005, with his studio album Trap
House. Mane has collaborated with a wide range of famous artists such as Selena Gomez,
Chris Brown and Lil Wayne. In December 2018, Gucci Mane launched his latest and
thirteenth album Evil Genius. According to Childs (2014), Gucci Mane is an “[…] influential
rap artist among African American youth […]” (p. 295), and many of his songs “[…]
perpetuate […] the stereotype of African Americans being preoccupied with materialism,
flashy jewelry, sexual promiscuity, carrying guns […]” (Childs 2014: 295).
Future is a rapper, whose real name is Nayvadius DeMun Wilburn, and he was born in 1983
Atlanta, Georgia. In 2012, Future debuted his first album Pluto. HipHopDx (2017), explains
Future has “[…] dropped multiple projects each year since at least 2010, scored four #1
albums with Honest, Dirty Sprite 2, his collab with Drake What A Time To Be Alive, last
week’s self-titled release, FUTURE (this week’s HNDRXX will likely go #1 as well)”
(online). Despite the fact that Future is a successful rapper, with three number-one albums,
his music has been criticized, because of his distinct song style. HipHopDX (2017) further
explains: “Hip Hop purists have been critical of the Atlanta rapper´s often inaudible lyrics and
autotune and arguably simplistic approach […] many have questioned whether modern
mumble rap is awful or awesome” (online).
The lyrics examined in the present study are from the following:
Kendrick Lamar´s songs: The Blacker the Berry (from the album To Pimp a Butterfly in
2015), Duckworth (from the album DAMN in 2017) DNA (from the album DAMN in 2017),
Humble (from the album DAMN in 2017).
J. Cole´s: No Role Modelz (from the album 2014 Forest Hills Drive in 2014), G.O.M.D (from
the album 2014 Forest Hills Drive in 2014), Immortal (from the album 4 Your Eyes Only in
2016), 1985- Intro to “The Fall Off” (from the album KOD in 2018).
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Gucci Mane: Money Do (from the album Meal Ticket in 2016), Tell Dem Boyz (from album
Meal Ticket 2016), Members only (from the album Mr. Davis in 2017), By myself (from the
album Evil Genius in 2018).
Future: I Be U (from the album Honest in 2014), Good Dope (from the album Future in
2017), Ain´t no Time (from the album Evol 2016), When I was broke (from the album Future
in 2017).
4.3 Method
The lyrics was obtained from the website www.azlyrics.com, which is an online resource for
lyrics from all types of genres from different periods of time. By examining the lyrics, the
songs were listened to repeatedly, in order to hear the flow of the song, the beat and lyrical
rhythm, which not only can be different in the two genres of Hip Hop music but also, affect or
force the way in which these rappers uses the copula constructions in AAVE within their
lyrics. The collected songs were copied and pasted into text documents, in order to be
examined.
The method for this study is quantitative, as each instance of the AAVE verb be, (whether
absent or present) was written down and counted. When scrutinizing the material, I compared
the frequencies and occurrences between two different genres of Hip Hop, to not only get a
better understanding of the use of the verb be of AAVE, but also to see if the genres affect the
way the copula was used. In addition, the method is partly qualitative, since this paper aimed
to identify the features within the lyrics by using the textual data to i.e., make distinctions
between the various forms of the AAVE verb be, and by looking into what context they were
used in, demonstrate how these features were used as a marker of cultural identity in rap and
Hip Hop music.
The lyrics and themes of the songs were not only interpreted through carefully listening to the
songs and through close reading of the lyrics, but also based on previous research about the
copula constructions in AAVE, the Hip Hop culture, and the given information about the
rappers involved in this study. In addition, in the current paper a comparison between the two
genres of Hip Hop was made when there were possible discrepancies of the use of the verb
be.
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In order to analyze the lyrics in terms of cultural identity, the songs are classified according to
common themes that deals with racial and social inequalities, such as, violence, crime and
poverty. Thus, these themes are addressed during the analysis process, through the pieces of
lyrics that reflect them.
5. Results and Analysis
The two tables below show that all the copula constructions have been identified within the
selected Hip Hop lyrics, though in varying degrees (see in Table 2 and Table 3). While Table
2 presents the absolute statistics of the compared frequencies and the occurrences of the verb
be in AAVE between the two different genres of Hip Hop, Table 3 shows how many times the
verb be is used by each of the four artists.
Table 2
The distribution of the use of the AAVE verb be in the two genres of Hip Hop (Conscious rap
and Trap).
Table 3
The presentation of the number of times the AAVE verb be is used by each of the four rap artists
(Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Gucci Mane, and Future)
The categories of
AAVE “Be”
Conscious rap
Trap
Numbers
of scores
(i) Be1
(Copula absence)
84 79 163
(ii) Be2
(Invariant/habitual be)
2 11 13
(iii) Be3
(The equative copula)
3 5 8
Total 89 95 184
The categories of
AAVE “Be”
Conscious rap
(Artists)
Trap
(Artists)
Numbers of scores
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5.1 Be1 (Copula absence)
Be1 (i), copula absence, is the feature which is most frequently used by all four rappers within
the Hip Hop lyrics of the two different genres of Hip Hop music, Conscious rap and Trap. It
occurred 163 out of 184 possible hits (see Table 1). The data also shows that Be1 (i) is used
the most within the lyrics of the Hip Hop genre Conscious rap, where it appears 84 times, as
opposed to its use in Trap music, where this structure occurs 79 times. However, in the genre
Trap, overall, the verb be was utilized 95 times, in contrast to Conscious rap, where it was
found 89 times.
Judging from the statistics of Table 3, Be1 (i) is employed the more often in the lyrics written
by the rap artist Future since it appears 59 times in total. Not to mention, he was also the
rapper who applied all constructions the most, since he utilizes it 70 times. In J. Cole´s songs
Be1 appears 49 times, 35 times within the lyrics by Kendrick Lamar. Last but not least, Gucci
Mane incorporates the copula absence least, 20 times.
5.1.1 Be1 (Copula absence) in Trap
In Future´s song Good Dope, Be1 occurs the most times, 23 times. In this song, the rapper
brags about being wealthy, which gives him a lot of benefits such as making the best drugs,
getting any woman he wants, and taking her to go shopping at Tiffany´s, which is a famous
American luxury jewelry and accessory store, as seen in the example:
1. a). Tiffany’s, Tiffany’s, we_goin´ shoppin´ at Tiffany’s. (before progressive verb phrase)
(from Good Dope)
Kendrick
Lamar
J.Cole Gucci Mane Future
(ii)Be1
(Copula absence)
35 49 20 59 163
(ii) Be2
Invariant/habitual
be
2 0 3 8 13
(iii) Be3
(The equative
copula)
2 1 2 3 8
Total 39 50 25 70 184
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The rapper uses Be1, as the progressive auxiliary verb, in the chorus of the song, which appears 3
times throughout the song. In this particular sentence, Be1 is used in the grammatical category before
progressive verb phrase (be+V-ing), first person plural (we) and deletion with are, in order to refer to
himself and the woman, with whom he probably goes shopping at Tiffany´s.
When looking closely at the structure of the sentence, the rapper omits the verb be which in this case
is used as an auxiliary verb, it helps and follows the main verb go and it also forms the progressive
aspect. Here, it is important to mention that there is a difference between a progressive verb phrase in
Standard English, and the one in AAVE. In Standard English the progressive verb phrase is usually
concerned with the tense of a verb, it is used to refer to actions that are either in the present, past or
future time. On the other hand, in a progressive verb phrase, the AAVE verb be can be used to mark
aspect, it denotes the duration of an event or how the action is done. As mentioned earlier, in Standard
English, the verb be is either used as a grammatical entity or as a copular linking verb (Payne 2010: 1-
2). In this case, the verb be in Standard English has grammatical meaning, and this sentence can either
mean “We are going shopping right now” (present tense), “We will be going shopping” (future tense),
“We went shopping” (past tense). According to scholars such as Alim (2006), Smitherman (1997) and
Cutler (2007), the copula absence in AAVE always occurs in present time. In fact, this piece of lyrics
does not carry multiple interpretations. Be1 is not only used in present time, but also it depicts
completed actions. Therefore, in the meaning of this sentence in this context “We are going shopping
at Tiffany´s right now”, he is describing what he and the woman are doing at the moment of the
utterance.
5.1.2 Be1 (Copula absence) in Conscious rap
As previously stated, Be1 occurs most frequently in Conscious rap lyrics. J. Cole applies this
feature 49 times, and he is the rapper who utilizes it the most in this particular genre. Hence,
he employs it 20 times in the song 1985- Intro to “The Fall Off”. In this case, the structure
appears in the verse of the song, as seen in the example:
2. a). Jokes on you motherfucker, we_ alive. (before adjective phrase)
(from 1985- Intro to “The Fall Off”)
In this song, the rapper uses the copula absence, in the grammatical environment before an adjective
phrase, first person plural, to talk about rap music throughout the years, and the experiences of being
a black rap artist in the Hip Hop industry. Campbell (2005) explains that this is where “[…] the
absence of the verb to be after, in this case, the subject pronoun we” (p. 13).
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In this particular sentence, Cole applies copula absence to describe a physical condition of his and
other rappers of his generation who are still a part of the Hip Hop industry and despite their past
struggles they manage to survive and have become successful. The adjective (alive) that follows the
copula deletion with are, denotes a state or condition that is permanent. Moreover, alive is the
sentence predicative, or to say subject complement, since the adjective that follows the absent verb
form be, is describing and identifying the subject.
The rapper uses the copula absence to put emphasis on the fact that he and other rappers are alive, and
at the same time he expresses a strong emotion of excitement. Green (2002), believes that the copula
absence in the sentence indicates an “Emphatic affirmation […] [which means that] [t]he overt
auxiliary/copula form […] occurs in emphatic contexts in which it is stressed (IS)” (p. 38). In other
words, this means that although the form of the verb be is not present in a sentence, it carries
(emphatic) stress.
5.2 Be2 (Invariant/habitual be)
Be2 (ii), appears very rarely within the lyrics of the rappers selected in this investigation (13
out of 184 hits). Three out of four rappers examined in this study have used this feature. In
fact, in the lyrics written and performed by J. Cole, this copula pattern is not present at all.
This feature was not only used the most within the lyrics of Trap, but also Future utilizes this
verb be construction the most in his lyrics, as he uses it 8 times. For instance, he applies it 2
times in the verse of his song Ain´t No Time and 6 times in the chorus of the song Good Dope.
Gucci Mane employs this structure 3 times in the verse of his songs: 1 time in the song
Members only and 2 times in Money Do. Be2 (ii) is used the most in Trap music, it shows up
11 times, whereas this feature shows up 2 times in Conscious rap lyrics. In fact, only
Kendrick Lamar, from the genre Conscious rap, uses Be2 (ii) 2 times in his song Humble.
5.2.1 Be2 (Invariant/habitual be) in Trap
In AAVE, Be2 is used to indicate habitual and repetitive actions. In addition, there are two
ways in which this feature can be used: either as a copular linking verb or a progressive
auxiliary, as seen in the following examples below:
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3. a). My niggas in the street be shootin´. (before progressive verb phrase)
b). My niggas in jail be stabbin´. (before progressive verb phrase)
(from Good Dope)
Future uses Be2 6 times, in the chorus of the song. In this song, he raps about violence and crimes, as
seen in the two examples above. In (3a) and (3b), the rapper applies Be2 before a progressive verb
phrase together with a possessive pronoun and the determiner (my), which precedes the noun
(niggas2), to refer to the black people in his neighborhood who are usually or often out shooting in
streets, and in jail stabbing other people or perhaps inmates. In this piece of lyrics, the invariant be is
used as a progressive auxiliary, where the verb be helps the main verb (shoot), to denote an ongoing
action in the present moment of speaking. Additionally, in this case, the copula construction “is that
of indicating habitual or iterative aspect” (Baugh 1983: 71). To put it in another way, Future utilizes
the copula construction, to talk about repetitive actions of the black people who come from the urban
streets around neighborhoods in Atlanta where he grew up.
4. a). That bullshit, I be on. (before an adverb phrase)
b). Gucci be fresh like the first day of school. (before an adjective phrase)
(from Money Do)
In his song Money Do, Gucci Mane raps about his successful and lavish lifestyle, and all the money
he has. In (4a), invariant/habitual be is used with first person singular before adverb phrase to talk
about situations that are reoccurring in his life. Green (2002) claims when using Be2 before an adverb
phrase, is to “indicate being in a place on particular occasion […] [and that] it is usually the case
[…]” (p. 49). In fact, when the rapper uses Be2 it creates a sense for the audience that he is, indeed,
that rich and makes much money to be able to indulge himself in luxury on an everyday basis. More
specifically, in (4a) the rapper applies Be2 to describe that he is always a part of a rich lifestyle, in
which he considers to be bullshit. In this context, the rapper means he views his rich and fabulous
lifestyle to be nothing special or perhaps unusual to him. Lanehart (2001) believes, in this context,
that “the use of invariant be [is] for habitual action” (p. 94). In Standard English, this sentence can be
equal to “That bullshit I always on”. The verb be in the invariant/habitual be, indicates habituality,
and it does not correspond with Standard English forms am, is and are. In this piece of lyric, the
adverb (on), modifies another adverb (always), to describe how often a certain action happens.
2 In AAVE the word “niggas” is commonly used in AAVE to refer to someone who is “Your best friend, you
homey […] Niggaz are those Bloods (Blacks) who are down for Blackness and identity with the trials as well as
the triumphs of the Black experience […]” (Smitherman 1997: 19).
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Using the invariant/habitual be in this sentence, one can interpret that his intention is to brag about his
rich lifestyle and his wealth. Green (2002) explains “One prominent feature in rap is bragging and
boasting about strength, possessions and skills in using words” (p. 156). In other words, Gucci Mane
uses the invariant/habitual be in a statement in which he expresses pride in himself and to boast about
his achievements. In fact, the verb be is indicating that the subject is doing an action repeatedly, that
of living a bullshit lifestyle.
In (4b) Gucci Mane utilizes Be2 before an adjective phrase and with the pronoun (Gucci), where “The
use of “be” means that the quality of “looking good” is not limited to the present moment […]”
(Smitherman 1997: 8). This means, Gucci Mane is always fresh (or good looking). Green (2002)
states, “[…] that be is used to indicate a habitual condition as in ´Johnny be looking good`, meaning
that Johnny is a good person […]” (p. 35). In this sentence, the rapper uses the invariant be as the
copular linking verb be to state that he is not only looking good at the moment of speaking, but he
always or regularly looks fresh because he is rich and lives a fabulous lifestyle.
5.2.2 Be2 (Invariant/habitual be) in Conscious rap
Be2 appears to a lesser extent in Conscious rap lyrics. For instance, there are no instances of
this feature within the lyrics by J. Cole and in Kendrick Lamar’s song Humble, it was found
only 2 times in the verse, as seen in the example:
5. a). Most of ya’ll be faking, aye. (before progressive verb phrase)
(from Humble)
In his song Humble, Lamar expresses his mixed feelings about being a successful rap artist. For
instance, Lamar wants to communicate that too much pride can have a negative indication. In other
words, he believes rappers who take too much pride in themselves show little or no respect for the
work of others.
In (5a) the rapper applies Be2 in second person plural to make a statement in which he says that most
people in the Hip Hop industry are usually or often “faking” it. In fact, Lamar believes many rappers
are not authentic or real rappers. This is not only due to the fact that these black artists are
straightening their natural (afro) hair, make use of the editing software Photoshop to remove certain
features of their bodies, but it also has to do with the way they deal with money and fame in general.
In this statement, the rapper uses the copula be before a progressive verb phrase, third person plural
and “he mean[s] that that´s what they REGULAR or USUALLY do” (Alim 2004: 175). When Lamar
utilizes the invariant/habitual be, he says that these rappers are always or often acting fake; they
25
pretend to be someone they are not. Baugh (1983) further claims, this structure is not only used to
signal habitual or repetitive actions or events, but also the verb to “[…] be occurs most frequently in
habitual contexts where events are nonpast or incomplete […]” (Baugh 1983: 71). This could be a
possible interpretation in (3a). In fact, the verb be in this context, indicates that the rapper refers to
events or actions that occur over and over again. Not to mention, the invariant/habitual be is, in this
case, used as a progressive auxiliary. This means that the auxiliary verb be, which helps the following
main verb (faking), indicates that the action is still in process or progress. Additionally, this is shown
when the second verb in the sentence is formed with the present participle (-ing). This is also the case
in the next example down below:
6. a). I might be buggin´. (before progressive verb phrase)
(from Duckworth)
In his song Duckworth, the rapper talks about a man called Anthony, who was about to rob and kill
Lamar´s father, while working at the fast food restaurant KFC. However, twenty years later Anthony
ended up being Kendrick Lamar´s manager. In the first verse of the song, Lamar expresses that he
finds the whole situation absurd, as seen in the line (6a). The rapper employs Be2 before a progressive
verb phrase, in first person singular, together with the modal auxiliary verb (might) which is used in
English to express a possibility in a conditional sentence. In fact, in this context, Lamar
communicates that there is always a possibility that he is buggin´ (goes crazy) when he is about to tell
the story of what a coincidence it is that he has become famous because of this man Anthony. The
meaning of this particular sentence is similar to the following example by Cutler (2007): “[…]
‘Keysha be trippin’’ (or overreacting) [the verb be] indicates that Keysha is usually or always trippin’
– not that she is just trippin’ right now” (p. 521). The line in (6a) can be interpreted that whenever or
every time he tells the story about how he and his manager Anthony met, the rapper might always
buggin´. Although Lamar feels that this situation is somehow funny to him, when using the copula be,
he expresses strong emotions and feelings of excitement when telling the story to his audience.
5.3 Be3 (The equative copula)
Be3 (iii) or the equative copula, turns out to be the structure least used in the selected rap
lyrics, since it is utilized by these rappers only 8 times in total. Like copula absence, this
feature is used by all four rappers investigated in this paper. The equative copula occurred 5
times in Trap lyrics and only 3 times in Conscious rap music. For instance, Kendrick Lamar
applies the equative copula 2 times in the verses of his two songs, The Blacker the Berry, J.
Cole employs it only 1 time in the verse of his song No Role Modelz. This feature appears 2
26
times within the lyrics in Gucci Mane´s Money Do. This construction is utilized the most
within the song Ain´t No Time by Future, as it can be found 3 times in the chorus of the song.
The equative copula in Hip Hop lyrics occurs in a noun phrase, before noun phrases, as clearly
illustrated by Alim (2004): “(Noun Phrase—> be —> Noun phrase)” (p. 182), as seen in the examples
found in the rap lyrics written by Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole, Gucci Mane and Future:
5.3.1 Be3 (The equative copula) in Trap
7. a). Man this paper be the reason why we talk
b). Let this paper be the reason why we talk
(from Ain't No Time)
In the lyrics of the song Ain´t No Time, Future talks about how he struggled to be recognized for his
rap music. Once he became famous, people hated him and were jealous of him for being rich and
famous. In (7a) and (7b), one can interpret that he is boastful because he talks about his money. In
(7a) Future uses the noun (man) in the first part of the sentence, in which he uses Be3 to state directly
that the paper (money) is the reason why he talks. In other words, the verb be in this sentence, is used
in present tense, together with third person singular noun (it) or in this case the paper, to inform or
insist that money is the reason why he talks. This is a clear example of the equative copula because
the verb be in the sentence is followed by a noun (Alim 2004: 182).
8. a). And all my kicks, they be the flyest, call me Bruce Lee
b). I'm super chillin, but my money be the rudest.
(from Money Do)
In the song Money Do, Gucci Mane talks about the fact that he is extremely rich. In (8a) the rapper
states that all of the kicks (shoes) that he owns are the flyest. According to Lanehart (2001) the word
or “[…] the verb fly […] functions as an adjective in Hip Hop that embellishes the noun as in: “Those
boots are sure fly […]” (p. 199).
The examples in (8), are not typical examples of the equative copula. This is due to the fact that, in
(8a) the word (flyest) that follows the verb be is an adjective (in the superlative), which normally is
placed before a noun, and it can either function as a modifier/attribute to a noun, subject or as an
object compliment. This is not the only reason why it is not a very clear example of Be3. This
sentence contains nominalized adjectives, which are adjectives that functions as nouns. In this case,
Gucci Mane, when using Be3 in this way, states that his shoes are being of a certain kind.
27
In (8b), Mane conveys the message, to let the money speak for itself. This becomes evident when he
sings at the very beginning of the verse in the song, “I don’t talk, my money do the talkin´ […]”. In
this particular verse, the rapper describes his money to be the rudest, which in this case implies that he
has a lot of money that makes him powerful. In other words, Gucci Mane emphasizes the power of
money, and the fact that he is rich enables him to do or buy everything that he wants. In this piece of
lyric, the verb be, just like the previous example in (8a), follows an adjective in the superlative.
In the examples in (8a-b), the rapper uses the superlative adjectives (flyest and rudest), to denote that
his shoes (that are extremely desirable and/or of high quality) and his money (which is of great value),
are “one-of-a-kind” things, or to say nouns of a particular types. Additionally, both these sentences
have an implicit meaning. For instance, in the example (8a) the meaning could be that his money be
the rudest one or be the rudest money, and in (8b) that his shoes be the flyest one or be the flyest of
them all. In other words, in this context the two words (money and one) need not to be stated, since
they can be assumed to follow the adjective (the rudest) in the utterance.
Although this is not a straightforward example of the equative copula construction, given the actual
circumstances of the utterance, it can be considered as a representative example after all. It is also
worth mentioning, in this context, there were very few examples in which the use of the equative
copula was not easy to detect or perhaps inaccurate. Further research on this topic is definitely needed
in order to give answers to how the copula is incorporated in current rap lyrics, and how this
particular feature is used to express culture identity in Hip Hop music.
5.3.2 Be3 (The equative copula) in Conscious rap
In the genre of Conscious rap, the Be3 is only evidenced 3 times, as oppose to the five
instances in Trap music. It occurs in the verses of the songs Humble and The Blacker the
Berry, and in J. Cole´s No Role Modelz, as seen in the example below:
9. a). If I quit this season, I still be the greatest, funk.
(from Humble)
In his song Humble, Lamar applies Be3 with first person singular, in a conditional sentence, to tell the
audience that if he decides to quit making music, he would still consider himself to be the greatest
funk. Alim (2004) further explains that the equative copula or “[…] be3 occurs in instantaneous or
definite time [and] […] THERE IS NO UNDERLYING PRESUPPOSITION OF HABITUALITY”
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(p. 184). This sentence can be read as “If I quit this season I still is the greatest funk”, where the
equative copula is used to describe what the rapper believes is the truth at the moment of the
utterance.
10. a). Church me with your fake prophesyzing that I'mma be just another slave in my head.
(from The Blacker the Berry)
Be3 is used 1 time in his song The Blacker the Berry, where Kendrick Lamar raps about himself and
other black people, who are being cursed evil because of their dark skin, and is therefore punished by
society. In fact, this is a clear example of the equative copula, since the “[…] be3 equates the subject
and the predicate nominal in such a way as to reveal what the speaker believes to be “realer than real”
state of affairs” (Alim 2004: 190). In (10a), the equative copula is used to identify the subject (he is
just another slave), and it is used after the word gonna, which is the short form of going to, as in “[…]
I’m gonna/ “I’m going to” is written Ima […] reflecting the reduction of “gonna”/ “going […]”
(Lanehart 2001: 204).
Like Standard English, in AAVE, going to is used as an expression to talk about events or actions that
are predicted to happen in the future (I will) or someone´s intentions (I am going to). However, the
only difference is that in AAVE contraction or reduction is more common than the standard use of the
future marker and form of the verb form gonna/gon, although it is optional. In this context, the rapper,
when using the equative copula together with the word gonna, is talking about what is going on in his
mind after experiencing racial discrimination. In fact, he is perceiving himself to be no other than just
another slave, due not only to how poorly society treats him, but also to (fake prophesizing) the false
stereotypes society has about African Americans in general. Additionally, Lamar applies Be3 to give a
command, as seen in the first part of the sentence (church me with you fake prophesyzing). By doing
so, he calls the American society for immediate action or perhaps attention. This means that the
rapper uses the equative copula to urge them to stop making these negative and false assumptions
about black people, because they are harmful and cause him racial self-hatred.
In J. Cole´s song No Role Modelz, the equative copula occurs only 1 time, as seen in the line
(11a). In this example he uses Be3 together with the future marker gonna and in first person, to
claim that he is going to be a better role model, than his mom was when he grew up. In fact,
Cole states that he knows that he will not only become a better parent to his child, but also a
better husband to his wife.
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11. a). I get my bitch pregnant I'mma be a better you.
(from No Role Modelz)
6. Discussion and Conclusion
The current paper has focused on the use of the verb be in AAVE such as Be1 (the copula
absence), Be2 (invariant/habitual be) and Be3 (the equative copula), in selected rap lyrics of
two different Hip Hop genres, Conscious rap (Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole) and Trap music
(Gucci Mane and Future).
The results of the study and the analysis of the selected rap lyrics showed that the various
patterns of the AAVE verb be were present, although not to the same extent. For instance, the
copula absence was used the most by all four rappers and this feature appeared in all sixteen
songs examined, which gives some indication that this is a feature prominent in current rap
lyrics.
When it comes to the use of invariant/habitual be within rap lyrics, compared to the use of
copula absence, this particular feature occurred more frequently in Trap. It is also worth
mentioning that this feature was not present in any of the songs by J. Cole. In the case of the
equative copula, this structure was used the least of all copula patterns of AAVE. It was used
5 times in Trap music and only 3 times in Conscious rap. Once, again Future was the rapper
who applied the copula patterns the most in the chorus of his songs Good Dope and Ain´t No
Time.
When looking at the use of the verb be in AAVE in current Hip hop music, this study both
does and does not corroborate with previous research. Firstly, the research conducted by Alim
(2004) the copula is the most street-conscious feature of AAVE used in Hip Hop rap lyrics.
However, in this study only the copula absence can be considered to be the most street-
conscious feature in AAVE, since it was not only a structure that was frequently used by all
selected rappers in this investigation, but also copula absence occurred within the lyrics in all
sixteen songs examined. There is no doubt that the copula patterns in AAVE is used by these
rappers to portray their view of their world (Alim 2006: 12).
30
From the results of this study, there is also some evidence that these rappers utilized the
AAVE verb be not only to talk about the street life, such as violence, crime and poverty, but
also boasting about fame and money, which according to Green (2002) is “one prominent
feature in rap” (p. 156). However, the analysis suggests, due to the many instances of the
copula absence in the lyrics, despite the differences in genres, all four rappers in this
investigation are constructing a street conscious identity.
In the other study by Sullivan (2003) it suggests that the reason why current rap lyrics lacks
features of AAVE features (such as the copula contractions), has to do with the fact that
rappers of today have changed the themes and content in their songs (p. 607). However, in
this study one finds that the main reason why the copula appears more or less within the lyrics
of the two different genres of Hip Hop, has to do with the beat, rhythm and the flow. In this
case, this study disagrees with the previous research. In fact, the possible reason for the high
frequency and occurrence of the invariant be and the equative copula in Trap music, or more
specially in Future´s songs, is that the copula constructions occurred was found in the chorus
of the song.
Last but not least, due to the limited number of instances of the equative copula in the selected
rap lyrics, it is impossible to state whether HHNL is the same as AAVE (Smitherman 1997).
Neither is it possible to say if it is an extended version of the invariant/habitual be (see Cutler
2007 for further discussion of this matter), nor if the equative copula is a recent phenomenon
used in current rap lyrics. However, the findings of this study suggest the opposite to the
study by Alim (2004) who believes that Be3 (the equative copula) is a feature of AAVE used
frequently in current rap lyrics. This is not only due to the fact that there were a few more
examples of the invariant be/habitual be in Trap music than the equative copula, but also
because of the two rare examples of its use in (8a-b). Whatever the case might be, much more
research is needed to find out more about the structure of Be3, and how it is used by rappers to
construct cultural identity.
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Lyrics
Gucci Mane. (2016). Money Do [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/guccimane/moneydo.html
Gucci Mane. (2016). Tell Dem Boyz [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/guccimane/telldemboyz.html
Gucci Mane. (2017). Members only [Lyrics] Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/guccimane/membersonly.html
Gucci Mane. (2018). By myself [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/guccimane/bymyself.html
Future. (2014). I Be U [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/future/ibeu.html
Future. (2014). Good Dope [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/future/gooddope.html
Future. (2016). Ain´t no Time [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/future/aintnotime.html
Future. (2017). When I was broke [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/future/wheniwasbroke.html
J.Cole. (2014). No Role Modelz [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jcole/norolemodelz.html
J.Cole. (2014). G.O.M.D [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jcole/gomd.html
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J.Cole. (2016). Immortal [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jcole/immortal.html
J.Cole. (2018). 1985- Intro ”The Fall Off” [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/jcole/1985introtothefalloff.html
Kendrick Lamar. (2012). Singing About Me, I’m Dying Of Thirst [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
Kenrick Lamar. (2015).The Blacker The Berry [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kendricklamar/theblackertheberry.html
Kendrick Lamar. (2017). Humble [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kendricklamar/humble.html
Kendrick Lamar. (2017). DNA [Lyrics]. Retrieved from
https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/kendricklamar/dna.html